Einhorn Comments on Updated Telemedicine Credentialing Requirements

Of Counsel Alan Einhorn was quoted in an article in the Credentialing Resource Center Journal, “The Joint Commission updates telemedicine credentialing requirements,” about changes made to three Medical Staff chapter requirements, including revisions to two elements of performance (EP) and one deletion, effective July 1.

Einhorn called the updates regarding telemedicine and credentialing welcome changes because they enable more hospitals and more distant-site telemedicine entities “to more fully avail themselves of the more efficient and less expensive proxy credentialing process in their hospital B2B telemedicine service agreements.”

This will enable entities that wish to expand their telemedicine offerings to utilize the “credentialing by proxy” process to onboard a broader array of telemedicine service providers, including providers who are affiliated with either Joint Commission-accredited or Medicare-participating entities, Einhorn said. Both rural and originating-site hospitals, as well as telemedicine companies offering professional services to those hospitals, will benefit from this change, he added.

“Those Joint Commission hospitals that already utilize credentialing by proxy and have incorporated credentialing by proxy provisions into their medical staff bylaws may have to make small changes to their bylaws to accommodate distant-site Medicare-participating entities, but the primary change for those hospitals will be the opportunity to utilize the credentialing by proxy process for a broader array of distant-site entities, including those that are not Joint Commission accredited but are Medicare participating,” he said.

(Subscription required.)